Aerospace engineering and materials science researchers at Texas A&M University and the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory have developed a "super foam" that can absorb up to 10 times more energy than conventional padding.
The composite, published and described in the journal of Composite Structures , combines an ordinary foam with 3D-printed injections of stretchy, plastic columns known as struts.
The result? An affordable, lightweight and ultra-durable hybrid foam poised to redefine the defense, automotive, aerospace and consumer industries.
The research team is led by Dr. Mohammad Naraghi , director of the Nanostructured Materials Lab at the Texas A&M College of Engineering , working in collaboration with Dr. Eric Wetzel , team leader for Strategic Polymers Additive Manufacturing at ARL.
"We've turned a simple foam into a tunable, high-performance, super foam composite," Naraghi said. "It has the potential to be a universal solution for a wide range of applications."
The magic of synergy
Foams are everywhere — and are in nearly everything we touch or use.
"We are surrounded by foams," Naraghi said. "Many of the objects around you are either entirely, or in some part, made out of it."
Their secret is simple: millions of tiny air pockets collapse under pressure, dissipating energy.
But there's a catch.
Beneath the surface, ordinary foams have random and chaotic internal structures that limit how efficiently they absorb energy, while engineered cellular materials (lattice structures) are more organized but notoriously expensive and difficult to scale.
For decades, engineers had to choose between affordability and precision — until now.
The research team showed for the first time that the solution to this complex tradeoff lies in a technique called In-Foam Additive Manufacturing, or IFAM.
"IFAM is a simple, computer-driven manufacturing process that allows us to build an elastomeric skeleton inside of a conventional open-cell foam," Wetzel said. "The diameter, spacing, angle and elasticity of the elastomer can be selected to achieve a wide range of properties. The IFAM process combines the best of both worlds, providing a low cost, customizable, high performance composite energy absorber."
In other words, it builds a 3D network of plastic struts into ordinary foam, creating a composite where both the foam and the struts team up under pressure and cover each other's weaknesses.
During the early stages of compression, the foam acts like a brace, holding the struts steady so they don't buckle too soon. As the pressure builds, the struts push the force outward into the surrounding foam, spreading the load. Together, this back-and-forth allows the composite to absorb more energy and withstand greater forces.
"It's the magic of synergy," Naraghi said. "A symbiotic composite between the foam and the struts."
By varying the thickness and angles of the struts, the researchers created a composite that can be tuned for strength, energy absorption, comfort, or all three.
A new line of defense
As an Army-sponsored project, the immediate frontier for the hybrid foam is national defense.
"Energy-absorbing materials are critical to a wide range of Army applications, including ballistic helmets and blast-resistant seat cushions," Wetzel said.
In combat zones, the upgrade from standard padding to a super foam that absorbs 10 times more energy isn't just an engineering win, it has the potential to reduce injuries and save lives.
"By injecting an ordinary foam with defined plastic struts, we are delivering orders of magnitude in terms of protection, with very little added weight," Naraghi said.
The team is exploring how the hybrid foam could be transitioned into military helmets that are required to not only stop ballistic projectiles, but that must also provide a cushion during violent falls and collisions.
"We aren't just adding layers to military helmets," Naraghi said. "We are using a composite shield that's more resilient than current paddings, yet light enough to wear all day without feeling tired."
For warfighters, this promises a new line of defense in greater protection, enhanced safety and peak readiness without sacrificing mobility or endurance.
"Head and brain injuries remain a significant concern for the U.S. Army, and any material innovation that allows us to provide greater protection, while also managing comfort and keeping weights low, is a valuable step forward," Wetzel said. "Furthermore, the IFAM process is easily transferrable to scaled, real-world manufacturing."
The future of road and runway safety
The same materials principles used to protect soldiers could also be tuned for civilian use.
"We can use this same hybrid foam for commercial helmets, too: bicycle, motorcycle, even sports helmets," Naraghi said. "Really any gear designed to absorb high-energy impacts."
Beyond protective wear, the new composite could redefine safety standards in passenger protection and vehicle design.
By lining car bumpers and interiors with this hybrid foam, vehicles gain a high-tech energy trap that can swallow brutal collisions, to protect passengers from impacts that current paddings aren't as optimized to handle.
"One transition we are interested in exploring is passenger and child safety seats," Naraghi said.
Silence, engineered
More than a physical shield, the hybrid foam has another promising potential: noise control.
While still a long-term goal, the researchers are opening the door to how the hybrid foam could be precisely engineered for advanced sound insulation.
"You could modify the foam's properties to become an excellent sound absorber that dampens, or even entirely eliminates, specific frequency bands and vibrations," Naraghi said.
In other words, that deep, low rumble in aircraft cabins and in moving cars, or the sharp, loud noise in residential buildings, could be trapped and silenced within the hybrid foam's internal skeleton.
"The acoustic applications are still in the early research stages, but we would like to explore this property more, to turn the foam into an active sonic filter that outperforms current materials," Naraghi said.
Designed, personalized comfort
Then there's the cushions angle, and how this military-grade composite could find its way into homes by enabling what the researchers call "zonal tuning" in cushions.
"With our hybrid foam, you could have different zones of your cushion tuned to your different preferences," Naraghi said. "For instance, firm for the neck, soft for the back, and medium for the legs. It could be entirely customized to a person's needs, comfort and physiology.
This means the end of the one-size-fits-all era for cushions, and now, every inch of a chair, mattress or sofa could be tuned to provide support exactly where you need or want it most.
Mission-driven innovation
In an era where innovation moves at the speed of need, partnerships with ARL and other mission-driven agencies help turn bold research ideas into practical, deployable solutions that address national and global research priorities.
"ARL builds these partnerships with industry and academia to get the best technical minds in the nation working on critical Army challenges," Wetzel said.
The collaboration is a blueprint of Texas A&M's broad academic ingenuity and approach to research: turning fundamental questions into future-ready, transformative capabilities.
"The collaborative teaming here has been essential to our success," Wetzel said. "Professor Naraghi's team at Texas A&M has not only provided an innovative solution, but has the academic rigor to understand the fundamental principles behind this new composite material. ARL has deep experience and expertise in the application of energy-absorbing materials, allowing us to guide the research in directions that we expect can transition into Army materiel."
In the case of this new super foam, tomorrow's protection is already taking shape — lighter, stronger, and engineered from the inside out.
"At Texas A&M, and in my lab, we strive to deliver innovative solutions that address today's challenges while anticipating tomorrow's needs," Naraghi said.
More information: In-foam additive manufacturing: Elastomeric cellular composites with tunable mechanics. Composite Structures, Volume 383, 120158 (2026).
DOI 10.1016/j.compstruct.2026.120158
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263822326001236?via%3Dihub
Journal Information: Composite Structures .
This work was funded under the ARL Cooperative Agreement W911NF-19-2-0264, with additional support under the Army Educational Outreach Program, contract W9115R-15-2-0001.
